( a republican named Kelly Knight Craft , apparently that is his real name , is being considered as possible US ambassador to Canada )

Kelly Knight Craft being vetted as Trump’s pick for Canadian ambassador

Bill Curry

OTTAWA — The Globe and Mail

Published Wednesday, Mar. 01, 2017 2:39PM EST

The U.S. State department is currently vetting Republican activist Kelly Knight Craft as Donald Trump’s pick for ambassador to Canada.

As The Globe and Mail first reported Friday, the Kentucky-based fundraiser is under serious consideration as the President’s choice for the position. Sources have since confirmed to The Globe that Ms. Knight Craft is the only name that is currently part of the internal review process.

In the event that the White House confirms Ms. Knight Craft as the administration’s choice, the appointment will still need to be reviewed and confirmed by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and the full Senate.

Procedural feuding between Republicans and Democrats in the Senate led to months of delays in 2013 and 2014 before the Senate approved then-president Barack Obama’s pick for ambassador to Canada, Bruce Heyman, who resigned in January.

While still President-elect, Mr. Trump had requested all ambassadors appointed by Mr. Obama resign prior to the Jan. 20 inauguration of the new government.

Ms. Knight Craft was a senior adviser to the U.S. ambassador at the United Nations under President George W. Bush and is a well-known Republican activist. Her billionaire husband, Joe Craft, is the chief executive officer of a major American coal producer, Alliance Resource Partners.

The Crafts have close connections with veteran Republicans in Congress, such as Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. Such connections could also prove to be valuable given the fact that Canada has a lot riding on how Congress deals with issues such as tax reform and Buy America provisions for infrastructure spending.

The couple was heavily involved in Mitt Romney's unsuccessful presidential campaign in 2011, serving as his Kentucky State Finance Chairs.

They are major donors to the University of Kentucky, where an athletics facility is named after Joe Craft.

The couple announced last June they were supporting Mr. Trump in part because he had privately promised he would support keeping House Speaker Paul Ryan and Mr. McConnell in their leadership roles.

The rumours of Sarah Palin heading to Ottawa appear to have been wildly exaggerated. But more credible reports this week that Republican fundraiser Kelly Knight Craft has been tapped by President Donald Trump as the U.S. ambassador to Canada seem to be holding — and former diplomats say her appointment would serve as a gesture to the more moderate elements in the GOP.

Bloomberg News reported this week that Kelly Knight Craft, a prominent Kentucky Republican and a supporter of Trump’s campaign, has accepted his offer of the position, which traditionally goes to political appointees rather than career diplomats.

U.S. President Donald Trump has named a top donor and fundraiser as ambassador to Canada.

Mr. Trump picked Kelly Knight Craft for the post in February and had the State Department vet her, but did not formally nominate her until Wednesday. Ms. Craft must now be confirmed by the Senate.

The Lexington, Ky.-based Ms. Craft runs a business-consulting firm, but she is best known in Republican circles as a prodigious fundraiser and generous contributor.

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She and her husband, billionaire Joe Craft, president of coal company Alliance Resource Partners, together gave $1.3-million (U.S.) to Republican candidates and SuperPACs last year, including a $265,400 contribution from Ms. Craft to Trump Victory.

In a 2007 interview with her hometown newspaper, the Daily Times in Glasgow, Ky., Ms. Craft said she first got into fundraising helping non-profit organizations. Starting with then-president George W. Bush’s 2004 re-election bid, Ms. Craft became involved in political organizing and raising money for candidates.

Mr. Bush appointed her to the United States’ United Nations delegation in 2007.

Ms. Craft’s political donations over the past 13 years have been wide-ranging, including both federal and state campaigns, and such heavy-hitters as Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Senator Marco Rubio. Mr. Craft, for his part, has shown a particular fondness for American Crossroads, the SuperPAC founded by Bush strategist Karl Rove. Mr. Craft gave the organization $1.25-million in 2012; his company contributed a further $2-million.

Ms. Craft and her husband have also made significant donations to her alma mater, the University of Kentucky. Ms. Craft sits on its board of trustees.

Her appointment comes at a pivotal time in U.S.-Canada relations. The two countries are gearing up to renegotiate the North American free-trade agreement, the pact that regulates the vast majority of Ottawa’s foreign trade. Mr. Trump has fired rhetorical shots at Canada in the run-up to the talks, accusing Canadians of “taking advantage” of the United States under the deal.

Ms. Craft’s coal connection could be awkward, however. The Trudeau government has made phasing out coal-fired electricity a cornerstone of its plan to slash greenhouse gas emissions, even as Mr. Trump is boosting the hydrocarbon and decided to pull the United States out of the Paris Agreement to fight climate change.

When Ms. Craft will be installed in Ottawa is unclear. She must first have her nomination reviewed by a Senate committee before coming before a vote in the full chamber. Procedural battles in the chamber have held up appointments in the past.

The United States has been without an ambassador to Canada since January, when Mr. Trump asked all of former president Barack Obama’s envoys, including then-ambassador Bruce Heyman, to step down before Mr. Trump took office.

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